Tom Hardy appeared on the Alan Carr: Chatty Man talk show this evening and talked about Bane and The Dark Knight Rises for the first time publicly. Hardy explained that he has three months to put on about 30 pounds of muscle, which will bring him up to about 200. He confirmed that he starts shooting in May, but wouldn’t say for sure if he’d be wearing a mask. Check out the video and see the brief Batman discussion for yourself.

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I SEE ALOT OF CHICKEN IN HARDYS FUTUER ! ALSO 90 % SURE THERE WILL BE A MASK !

TheDarkNight4ever

Whatever Chris Nolan does with Bane it’s going to be ridiculously good, no doubt. In saying that I’m not sure how much it’s going to matter if Hardy puts on 30 or 50 pounds of muscle, either way something is going to happen with either prosthetics or CGI to make him look bigger because he’s only 5″9. Either way it’s going to be sick.

Does anyone ever notice that when comic book movies are trying to go back to the drawing boards you always hear the common phrase, “we want to go back to the roots of the character and get a visionary director like Christopher Nolan and what he did with Batman Begins and The Dark Knight”. It’s obvious that Batman has become the upper-echelon of superhero movies and it will never be touched because of what Nolan has done. Look at franchises like X-Men, Spiderman, The Hulk, Daredevil (I heard the other day the what a “Nolan-esque approach to the character), and Superman. Funny how it took Christopher Nolan for all the genius movie industries to figure out that dark comic book adaptions will realism, good story and very little CGI will go along way with moviegoers and fans.

Just thought I’d drop that in there.

FanOfNolan

I don’t believe Nolan will try to make look Hardy look bigger. If he’s made anything clear by now, it’s that he wants the characters to still look believable. Hardy can bulk up, but if they try to make him look like the comic book character, that’ll make it seem more like a fantasy piece. Bane has to look like someone we could see in real life. As for his height, I doubt Nolan cares about that. Put some boots on him and he’ll look a little taller. He doesn’t need to be 6’5″ to be convincing. I just hope they make him an intelligent villain. Getting the spirit of the character right is far more important than matching the look. Just look at Heath Ledger. He looks nothing like the Joker of the comics, but no one cared because the performance and the writing was fantastic.

http://twitter.com/SHotMBlog SuperherooftheMonth

I agree. There are ways to make Hardy look “bigger” without resorting to CGI. Boots would work. Forced perspective is another angle. There’s no need for CGI.

FanOfNolan

I don’t think Nolan worries too much about how tall his characters look. If he did, I think he would’ve tried to make Christian Bale appear taller. Standing next to Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, and Morgan Freeman, Bale looks short despite being 6′ tall. I think fans get too hung up on finding an actor who looks the part instead of focusing on what’s more important.

http://twitter.com/SHotMBlog SuperherooftheMonth

I agree. I don’t think Hardy has to be taller than Bale. I just meant that people keep mentioning that Nolan would have to use CGI to make Hardy taller/bigger than Bale. And I think we all know by now that CGI isn’t really Nolan’s thing. I just meant that there are other, conventional ways of making it happen, should Nolan feel that Hardy should be “bigger”.

Anonymous

Heath Ledger looked close to the character from the comics and he was easily identifiable by Batman fans and non Batman fans. Only difference is smeared makeup and imperfect hair.’

This reminds me a lot of Michael Keaton. No one pictured an average looking 5’10, 160 pound male fighting crime on a nightly basis in gray tights however no one complained once they watched the film and to this day his performance is highly praised.

Sometimes the casting makes no sense at all however it’s amazing how they prove time after time to surprise the audience. Just like the guy next to me, I rather prefer Bane looking someone like the professional wrestler Kane (who plays a very similar role on TV) but it would be a tad foolish to underestimate the great minds working for the Nolan Gang.

FanOfNolan

I disagree about Ledger looking like The Joker of the comics. In fact, that was a big reason why people were scratching their heads when he was cast for the role. He’s not tall, super skinny, and doesn’t have the facial features. I think this is a big reason why people wanted Sean Penn or Paul Bettany in the role. Penn had the height and facial features. Bettany was tall and lean. Those who were old enough to remember Batman ’89 remember what it was like having Jack Nicholson as The Joker. Medium height, pudgy, and with thinning hair. So I think people were really hoping to get an actor who actually looked the part this time. But Ledger, despite looking more like The Joker than Nicholson, still didn’t come close. In the end, it didn’t matter. His performance and the right script made up for it. And just look at Michael Caine. He looks nothing like the Alfred of the comics. And yet he too was perfectly cast for the role. It’s hard to imagine anyone else doing as good a job.

Anonymous

Okay? If that’s what you think then great. People in general can easily identify Ledger’s Joker…. children, adults, Batman fans & non-Batman fans. An actor’s physical appearance for the role is irrelevant…. the Joker doesn’t use his physical appearance for any advantages (the opposite of Bane). Not only does the Joker have the key elements from the comic book character’s appearance but his presence based on his look and personality combined makes Ledger’s Joker feel like it’s based on the character from the comics….. but if you don’t agree then I really could care less because that wasn’t my point, in case you couldn’t understand the obvious.

The comparison between Ledger and Hardy is completely different. Actually there’s no comparison at all. Just because they (Ledger and Hardy) are playing in the same trilogy and receiving criticism prior to showcasing is no indication of any similarities. All what I did was provide an appropriate comparison to back up your original post because it was proven that there are very smart people capable making the most out of what’s provided that can absolutely shock an audience.

http://profiles.google.com/drewmckay Drew McKay

Well, there are a ton of different adaptations of the characters in the source material. Every Artist puts their own spin on it.

Di1an

Sean Penn is 5’9″ mate. Ledger was 6’1″. You’re a little confused.

FanOfNolan

Well since I can’t reply to your post below, I’m going to reply here. Your post below tells me that you didn’t even bother reading what I wrote. Either that or you didn’t understand it. I never said that viewers couldn’t identify Ledger as The Joker. What I said was that he doesn’t resemble the character physically. In the end, it didn’t really matter because the script and the performance were enough to make up for it. That’s the precisely the point I’ve been making with Hardy. So I don’t know where you get this idea that I’m comparing him to Ledger. Two different actors for two different roles. Why I would be comparing them. Apparently you missed the whole point I was trying to make, which is that like Ledger, Hardy doesn’t resemble the character he’s been cast to play. But like Ledger, he can overcome that by giving a great performance and having the right script. Seriously, learn to read more carefully next time.

Anonymous

This is so laughable. All what I did was provide an example to back up your comment and like a fanboy, everything must turn into a pointless debate although in the end, we actually see eye-to-eye. But you don’t see the irony.

Obviously you were too blind to read this sentence in my previous comment…. “but if you don’t agree then I really could care less because that wasn’t my point, in case you couldn’t understand the obvious”. You made it clear that YOU don’t think the character looks anything like the Joker from the comics…. bravo *claps hands*…. like I said, I don’t care because it’s a very unimportant topic and number two… it had nothing to do with my original point.

Number two…. when did I EVER accuse you of comparing Ledger and Hardy personally or based on their characters? Either you’re putting words into my mouth or you continue providing the irony. I understood your point… Ledger and Hardy both had/have to overcome the odds because they don’t physically look like their characters to a T so they must overshadow that with superior acting skills, which is what they do best. IMO, it was a bad comparison because there are better examples…. you know, in case you couldn’t understand that as well.

I hope I cleared the smoke for you because obviously it prevented you from actually reading my comments above and now you can realize the topics you decided to “debate” over are very unimportant and silly. So I originally made brief mentions although they barely had anything to do with my original point. I guess it must be a slow day for you.

And this is what you get for publicly agreeing with somebody. How ironic.

BatmanFan

To RickyLP:

“but if you don’t agree then I really could care less because that wasn’t my point, in case you couldn’t understand the obvious.”

It’s I COULDN’T care less, not I could care less. Saying you could care less means that, well, you could indeed care less because you already care to some extent. And all the guy was saying was that Ledger did not look like the Joker from the comics, which he doesn’t.

“his presence based on his look and personality combined makes Ledger’s Joker feel like it’s based on the character from the comics.”

Yeah, that’s exactly what he said. He said that Ledger’s performance and personality of the character made him feel like he was the character from the comics. That trumped the fact that his Joker did not look like the Joker from the comics. IF you go purely on what he looked like then he wasn’t the Joker from the comics. But as he said, the performance made him the Joker from the comics.

“Okay? If that’s what you think then great. People in general can easily identify Ledger’s Joker…. children, adults, Batman fans & non-Batman fans.”

And he never said people couldn’t identify his Joker. He said people couldn’t identify him as the Joker when he was initially cast, not based on the finished product itself.

“An actor’s physical appearance for the role is irrelevant…. the Joker doesn’t use his physical appearance for any advantages (the opposite of Bane)”

Then I guess in a perfect world for you Danny Devito would be cast as the Joker if it meant his actual performance was spot on.

“And when did I ever accuse you of comparing Ledger and Hardy based on their characters?”

How about right here: “The comparison between Ledger and Hardy is completely different. Actually there’s no comparison at all. Just because they (Ledger and Hardy) are playing in the same trilogy and receiving criticism prior to showcasing is no indication of any similarities” And if that wasn’t your intent you should be clearer with what you’re writing.

You both said the exact same thing and made the exact same point. But you obviously didn’t read his post, all you saw was I DISAGREE and you went off on him. He never said Ledger was unidentifiable as the Joker. He said people couldn’t picture Heath Ledger as the Joker when he was first cast. But then he went on to make the exact same point you did and say that Ledger was just like the comic book Joker in his performance.

http://twitter.com/Corporal_Nosaj Nosaj Illerrob

The FIRST ever Batman series on comics, way back in May 1939, Batman was portrayed as a dark in the shadows, and realistic atmosphere, so I am happy in this case they “went back to their roots”… saying that, the Original Bane when he appeared in January 1993 he was never chemically Enhanced, He was BIG but he got that way from his prison time, and LATER the help of steroids, and then even later after that when Hugo Strange introduces Venom, to make him bigger and strong. Steroids was just to give him the edge over Batman and still is realistic, So I am hoping that Nolans Bane is going to stay with the realistic Bane like the OLD school bane was back in Prison Bane

Manoschaos

Tom Hardy can star in this movie naked with black paint smeared all over his body. THAT’S MENACING!

Anonymous

Just pictured him running at Batman wearing nothing but a bowler hat and Lennon-style sunglasses….

Yikes.

Manoschaos

For some people, prison is tough…
I want this as the movie’s tagline.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_MJTPX42RL23YISZHPYXWFM2KVE Drew

Great little video. Hardy is going to be fantastic in this movie.

Anonymous

Just thinkng about the mental anguish Heath Ledger put himself through for The Joker, how Bale has had to get back in shape before every installment after losing a heap of weight for the previous movie he was in and now how much Tom Hardy has to bulk up to play Bane…

This trilogy has some EXTREAMELY dedicated actors!

Thejokersmiles13

I agree 100% and I think this trilogy depending of course on the outcome of The Dark Knight Rises, will go down as one of the best casts assembled over a course of 3 films. I mean forget the star power and just look at the quality of actors Nolan has brought on board. Amazing

lead sharp

How is this video blocked in my country, when it’s FROM my country?

http://batman-news.com Batman-News.com

Unfortunately Channel 4 has blocked the video in the following countries: Guernsey, Ireland, Isle of Man, Jersey, United Kingdom.

Can’t wait to see this interpretation of Bane, I mean he really is the perfect foil for Batman physically and mentally. Too bad we haven’t that in the video game or the sorry excuse of a Batman movie B&R. I believe that Nolan has several tricks up his sleeve if he only wants Hardy to put on 30lbs and not like 60-70lbs and it shouldn’t matter if he’s only 5’9, if you have the talent and skills to bring a certain character to life then that’s what counts. Tom Hardy’s Bane could go down like Ledger’s Joker as the ultimate screen villain so could Hathaway if Catwoman does make an appearance cuz we still don’t know about Marion’s role yet. Tom Hardy is tailor made for Bane, there are no doubts here, he’s going to be incredible and to watch him go toe to toe with Bale’s Batman…Epic!

Simon

Can’t wait for this movie!!!!!
Maybe you know, is there going to be an IMAX marathon of this? Hours before midnight Begins en Dark Knight and at midnight, the day it will be released: The Dark Knight Rises. I really hope this will come, because I’ve never seen the other 2 on screen………..
All the actors are great, I’m really curious to see how Nolan is gonna put Bane and Catwoman in the movie. And the batboat wouldn’t be bad either ;)

Anonymous

Yeah! Tom Hardy is awesome, I was watching this on TV and was wondering when someone would upload the video. I can’t get over how effin’ cool Hardy is, and the bit where they talked about East Sheen is true, lol…

I really can’t wait to see how Nolan pulls off Bane!!! I’m not sure if you guys feel the same way: The other characters I sort of build certain expectations of what Nolan would give us (of course Joker surpassed those expectations, but at least one could imagine what he would be like) but for Bane.. I am completely clueless what to expect!! Huge, giant like guy? Not likely… Luchador Mask? Venom pumping tubes sticking out everywhere? Meehh… so then what?!?! I can’t wait for 2012!!!!

Anonymous

COULD NOT AGREE MORE ! THATS THE MAIN REASON I THINK NOLAN CHOSE BANE , THE FAN BASE HAS NO REAL EXCPECTION , SO HE CAN MOLD A NEW VILLIAN FROM SCRATCH ! EPIC!

resudes

Can’t watch the video because channel four have blocked the content in the uk for some daft reason. Sessions of heavy intense barbell squatting and eating like an animal should put the weight on no problem at all! The hardest part is making sure you’re putting on ‘quality’ weight which is usually why junk food would be mostly avoided, but if you’re trying to put on 2-3 stone in just three months it’s tricky…